Cross Examination: The Second Jerrod Gold Novel (The Jerrod Gold Novels Book 2)

by James C. Gray

  The doctor gave his expert opinion as to the cause of death: Swelling of the brain caused by blunt force impacts to the head -- and the manner of death: Homicide.

  Preston asked a few innocuous questions.

  The artist who worked with Brent Rozman and Mitzi Orasz to prepare the rendering of the man she saw at Hank Jones' trailer testified the drawing admitted into evidence was the same he had drawn.

  Detective Jeff Moreno testified about the photographic line-up including Nick Usher's photograph he had prepared. He was ask no questions under "cross."

  Judge Kohnke glanced at the courtroom clock -- it was four-thirty -- and he dismissed court for the day.

  CHAPTER 97

  Wednesday Evening

  Jerrod recognized the street address Bruce Witt had given him as a trailer park near the beach between Willowmere and Valle Verde. He parked in front of the faded white and brown Tioga motorhome as Bruce stepped out of the side door of the coach to meet him.

  "Thanks for coming here to meet me," Bruce said.

  "Sure. Why couldn't we meet at the SO?" Jerrod asked.

  "You'll see. Come on in."

  Jerrod followed Bruce into the motorhome. Cramped, but tidy and efficient. Perfect for a single man with a unpredictable vocation. Local law enforcement and fire radio traffic could be heard from a RadioShack scanner placed near the driver seat. Bruce reached over and turned down the volume.

  "Let's see the tape," Jerrod said.

  "Step into my office."

  The motorhome bedroom was at the very rear of the coach. The bathroom was on the left side. On the right side was once a set of bunk beds. The top bunk was stacked high with books, binders, and file folders. The bottom bunk had been removed and a plywood desktop installed. On the desk was an impressive variety of professional video recording and editing equipment situated between two monitors. Dozens of video tapes, new and used, were stacked along the side of the desk.

  "Nice little studio you have here."

  "Thanks," Bruce said. "Please, have a seat."

  Jerrod sat in a chromed-metal and brown cloth desk chair.

  "Okay. Let's see it."

  "It's all queued up," Bruce said. "But a little background first."

  "Okay."

  "I was cleaning-up tapes this morning -- dubbing the raw tapes onto storage reels -- so I can reuse the expensive camera tapes. I was letting the tape run and found... something... at the end of the tape from Brent's crash."

  Jerrod nodded.

  "I got to the crash scene about the same time the CHP did," Bruce said. "An ambulance was leaving, no lights or siren, when I got there. So I knew it had to be a fatal crash, but had no idea who was involved. There was a North County fire truck and some firefighters standing around."

  "Okay."

  Bruce pushed the "play" button on one of the pieces of equipment. "This is the raw video from that night. No edits."

  Jerrod watched the video and could see the extensive damage to Brent Rozman's county-issued Ford sedan caused by the high-speed impact with the massive redwood tree. The video captured images of the firefighters at the scene and two CHP officers beginning their investigation.

  "I hope you don't have a shot of Brent's body in here," Jerrod said.

  "He's not on the tape."

  "Bruce, I've seen some of this on the news already. It doesn't change anything."

  "Keep watching."

  There was a pause on the tape and a period of time lost. The tape continued and showed the roadway partially blocked off with flares and orange safety cones. Yellow crime scene tape had been placed around the totaled car.

  "How long was that break in the tape?" Jerrod asked.

  "Fifteen minutes, or so."

  The tape continued and Jerrod recognized a shouting male voice off screen. The video rotated 180-degrees and the face of Sergeant Darrell Regner grew larger as he rushed the camera view.

  "Stop filming," Regner was heard saying on the tape.

  "I'll tape whatever I want," Bruce was heard saying. "You're being recorded right now, so back the fuck off."

  The view on the tape showed Regner move toward Bruce and place his hand over the lens.

  "Hands off the equipment, asshole," Bruce is heard saying. "This isn't going to play well for you on the evening news."

  "I want that tape," Regner is heard saying.

  "You can have anything that gets put on the air," Bruce told him. "Nothing more."

  Regner was seen backing off and looking over his shoulder as an unmarked car arrived at the scene. Bruce taped Lieutenant Mitchell Sullivan getting out of the car. Regner walked over to the lieutenant and they had a private conversation.

  The tape paused and then resumed showing the firefighters using the "Jaws of Life" to cut away parts of Brent's car and the CHP taking photographs of the scene. The tape showed Sergeant Ted Lindsey arrive in his unmarked white coroner's van and talking with Sullivan and Regner. The tape panned back to the firefighters for a few seconds and then Sullivan's voice was heard off camera.

  "Mr. Witt," the lieutenant said as the camera paned back to him. "May I speak to you for a moment. Off the record."

  "Sure," Bruce as heard saying as the video went black.

  Bruce pressed the "pause" button on the equipment.

  "What did Sullivan and you discuss?"

  "He told me who was in the car. That's when I learned it was Brent. I was pretty shocked, honestly. I had known Brent for years."

  "What else did you talk about?"

  "Sullivan asked, very nicely, that I give him the tape I had taken. I refused. His tone changed and he threatened to take the tape 'as evidence.' I told him the same thing I told that blockhead sergeant... to fuck off. He didn't like that very much, but he was apparently smart enough not to pursue it."

  Bruce pressed the "play" button again and there was more video of the firefighters and CHP performing their grisly duties.

  "The tape shows what I already know," Jerrod said. "Regner and Sullivan are both assholes. But there's nothing special on this tape."

  "Yes, there is," Bruce said. "Keep watching."

  The tape showed Ted Lindsey's van being backed near Brent's car and completely blocking Bruce's view of the scene. A cell phone was heard ringing. The view from the tape abruptly moved down and the ground and Bruce's shoes were seen. Then it looked like the camera was placed on the ground -- while still recording.

  "I thought I stopped filming when the van moved in the way. The camera was apparently still on 'record.'"

  "Now we have some great video of the ground," Jerrod said.

  "My cell phone rang," Bruce said. "So I left the camera next to a CHP car and walked away from it. I think it was the call you made telling me to come to the jail."

  "And?"

  "Listen."

  On the tape, he could hear the voices of Lieutenant Sullivan and Sergeant Regner grow clearer as they moved close to the CHP car. They held a quiet, but intense, discussion. Jerrod listened intently for about two minutes as Sullivan and Regner continued -- what they thought -- was a private conversation.

  Bruce whispered to Jerrod: "Here it comes."

  Jerrod listened to the hushed, but crystal clear voices on the tape. His eyes grew wide at one point. His mouth stood open as he listened in disbelief to what was said on the tape.

  He turned his head and looked up at Bruce. "What would you say if I asked you for a copy of this entire tape?"

  Bruce thought for a moment and placed his finger along his chin. "I'd say... 'I already made a copy for you.'"

  CHAPTER 98

  Thursday Morning Meeting

  "How's the trial going, Sarge?" Bryce "Zippy" Zippich asked Jerrod.

  "Good. So far. We got off to a rough start, but it's going well now."

  "How about Brent's part of the investigation?" Linda Westphal asked.

  "We've got that worked out. I think. There's someone else who can testify about the important things."

 
; "Such as?" Calvin Yee asked.

  "Well, for example," Jerrod nodded toward Jeff Moreno. "Jeff made the photo lineup and I was there when Brent showed it to Mitzi Orasz."

  Nate Boxley nodded.

  Jerrod added, "We still have to explain Brent's accidental death to the jury."

  Jerrod's emphasis and condescending tone when he said "accidental death" couldn't have been any clearer. He had made "air quotes" around the two words -- without moving his hands.

  The lieutenant said in a calm voice, "Sergeant Gold. Would you please stay after the meeting."

  "Yes, sir."

  Linda was the last to leave the lieutenant's office after the meeting broke up. She looked back at Jerrod as she closed the door. Her face held the expression of a person seeing another for the very last time.

  "Do you like working here, Sergeant?" the lieutenant asked.

  "Not really, sir."

  "That was not exactly the answer I was expecting."

  "No one, except maybe your lap dog -- Regner -- likes working here, sir."

  "Really. Please elaborate. Why is everyone unhappy with their assignment?"

  "Permission to speak candidly, sir?"

  "Granted."

  "Because you've treated us like a lab experiment. To you, we're just a bunch of rats running around a maze trying to prove your Master's Program hypothesis works. Well it doesn't work. Your experiment killed the morale here... and I think it led to Brent's death as well."

  The lieutenant leaned back in his chair and thought for a full minute before speaking again. "You think I 'killed' Brent Rozman?"

  "'Killed.' No, sir. 'Pushed him over the edge.' Yes."

  "By reassigning one case and saving a little money on travel?"

  "Yes. Exactly. You took away the only thing Brent had left."

  "I seriously doubt that to be the case."

  "I'll always be convinced Brent killed himself and he intentionally crashed his county car as a final insult to you. That totaled car came out of your budget, after all."

  "Sergeant Rozman's death was a tragic accident. Plain and simple."

  "You'd sure like everyone to believe that, sir. You said 'tragic accident' four times at his funeral service."

  "You sound very confident in your beliefs. Perhaps you have some proof to back up what you think?" The lieutenant's demeanor stayed remarkably calm.

  "I have absolutely no way to prove anything, sir. That's just how I feel."

  "Your 'candid' time has expired, Sergeant. And you are on the line of being insubordinate. If you are unhappy in your present assignment, just submit a transfer request and ask to work somewhere else. I do not want you in my command and you are not too invaluable to be replaced."

  "I will put in a transfer request... right after the Nick Usher trials are completed."

  The lieutenant leaned across his desk. "If you last that long."

  * * *

  "Hello, Jerrod," Sharron Marcotte, Sheriff Wayne Osborn's secretary, said. "Do you have an appointment with the sheriff?"

  "No. I actually have a question for you."

  "Go right ahead."

  "I would like to read the report regarding Brent Rozman's death. It's a confidential report and, I understand, you keep those here under lock and key."

  "The report is here, but I can't release it to anyone without the sheriff's okay first."

  "No problem. Can I safely assume the sheriff has read the report himself?"

  "I'm certain he has. Lieutenant Sullivan and Sergeant Regner met with him for over an hour to talk about that report."

  Jerrod nodded.

  "Would you like to make an appointment to talk to him about it?"

  "Not just yet. But thank you."

  * * *

  "Sheriff's Investigations. This is Linda," the voice answering the phone said.

  "This is Jerrod. Just answer my questions in 'yes' or 'no' answers. Okay?"

  "Where are you?"

  "I'm on a cell phone... over by the courthouse. Answer 'Yes' or 'no' only."

  "'Yes,' I guess."

  "Did Regner get called into Sullivan's office right after I left?"

  "Yes."

  "Did he close the door and stay inside a while?"

  "Yes."

  "How long? Five minutes?"

  "No."

  "Ten?"

  "No."

  "Fifteen?"

  "Yes."

  "We never had this conversation. Okay?"

  "Yes."

  CHAPTER 99

  Thursday Morning -- Mesa County Superior Court

  Judge Kohnke called court into session at nine-thirty. "Do The People have their next witness."

  ADA Lorena Delgado stood. "We do, Your Honor. The People call Mitzi Orasz."

  Mitzi used her walker to amble down the courtroom aisle. Jerrod opened the swinging gate and directed her to the witness stand. He glanced up at Judge Kohnke and caught his impatient glare.

  "Please state your name, ma'am," the judge directed as Mitzi settled in the chair.

  "What was that? she asked.

  The judge made a subtle scoff and spoke in a louder tone.

  "Mitzi Orasz," she said proudly.

  "Ms. Delgado," the judge said.

  "Thank you, Your Honor," Lorena began as she continued posing clear and concise questions to the elderly witness.

  Mitzi's recollection of Hank Jones' last day was articulate on the witness stand and her testimony consistent with her earlier statements.

  Lorena showed her the photographic line-up.

  "Ms. Orasz, do you recall two detectives showing you these pictures?"

  Mitzi studied the photos. "Yes, I do."

  "Did you recognize any one of the photographs as being the man you saw outside Hank Jones' trailer?"

  Mitzi looked at the photos again. "I didn't then and I don't now."

  Under "cross," Preston Vinnick asked Mitzi if she recognized anyone in the courtroom as being one of the persons in the photo line-up.

  She looked around the courtroom -- including at Nick Usher -- and answered simply: "Nope."

  VVPD Officer Rusty Browne testified about the traffic stop he made of Hank Jones' stolen Mercury Monarch.

  The young Latino who had been arrested after being found driving the Mercury testified through an interpreter. He identified Nick Usher in court as the person he paid $600 in cash for the car.

  Detective Jeff Moreno was recalled as a witness and testified about his interview of the driver, the photographic line-up shown to him, and the drive-by of the north Valle Verde dope house he and Detective Calvin Yee had made with the young man.

  The saggy-faced man who owned the Valle Verde dope house identified Nick as having "crashed" with him for a few weeks, to having shared cocaine with him, and to having been present the day the Mercury was sold.

  "Shroom" Mingus was recalled and testified he lifted a latent fingerprint from the interior rearview mirror of the Mercury. He told the jury the fingerprint had been identified as being made by Nick Usher's right thumb.

  At precisely twelve-noon, Judge Kohnke looked up at the courtroom clock, interrupted Preston Vinnick in the middle of his "cross" of Shroom, and adjourned court for the lunch recess.

  * * *

  "We're almost done with our case-in-chief," Lorena said from her desk at the District Attorney's Office. "We might wrap-up this afternoon."

  "Preston doesn't seem to be putting up much of a fight," Jerrod said. "Why would he do that?"

  She said, "I suspect he's just going to let the auto theft case go. That charge is a loser for him. But he's going to fight the 'burg' and murder charges tooth-and-nail. That's all he's really got left. He's holding back for The Defense case."

  * * *

  "Please continue your 'cross,' Mr. Vinnick," Judge Kohnke said to begin the afternoon session.

  Preston asked ten minutes of follow-up questions of Shroom and Lorena spent a few more minutes on rebuttal.

  Mulga Police Officer Ar
nie Sterrett had been called as a witness, but Preston Vinnick "stipulated" -- agreed to accept as true to the jury -- he had arrested Nick Usher on the warrant from California in front of the mini-market. The officer was not, therefore, required to travel to Mesa to testify in-person.

  Jerrod was called to testify he had traveled to Mulga and returned Nick to Mesa.

  "Your Honor, Sergeant Gold was our last witness." She looked at the jury." The People rest their case."

  The judge addressed the jurors. "The People have concluded their case. We will take the afternoon break while the attorneys and I discuss some issues. Court is adjourned until two...," he peeked at the courtroom clock, "... twenty."

  After the jurors filed out of the courtroom, the judge announced, "We're back on the record."

  Preston Vinnick stood and buttoned his jacket. "Your Honor, The Defense moves under Section 1118.1 a Motion For Acquittal of Counts One and Two -- the Murder and Burglary charges. The People have failed to provide sufficient evidence for each of the elements of the offenses charged."

  Judge Kohnke thought for a few moments. "I understand the test and The Court's responsibility under 1118.1. The Court has heard the evidence and is satisfied the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction. It will be up to the jury to determine whether the Defendant is guilty or not-guilty. The Defense motion to dismiss is denied."